Preservation of buildings

Last Thursday when I got home from our class my Ohio State Alumni magazine was in the mail waiting for me.  The alumni magazine always brings back memories of the undergrad days and I especially love to see the pictures of different parts of campus through the years.  Apparently Ohio State has decided to change their living on campus policy to require second year students to remain on campus, in dorms for another year.  This is neither here nor there to me at this point, unless one of my children go to school there it won't affect me at all.  What is troubling, more so after last weeks guest speakers, is how OSU is planning on making room for sophomores to live on campus.  

Ohio State is "divided" into a north and south campus.  The south campus dorms have all been remodeled and new dorms have been built; there aren't details as to where the dorms were built or what was removed to make room for new dorms.  The next phase of the project has already begun and it involves the north campus area.  Eleven new buildings are being planned for the fall of 2016, including nine residence halls.  In order to accommodate eleven new buildings, eleven current structures are being demolished and I believe others have already been demolished to make room.  

Among the buildings are Scott House (pictured here)

and Blackburn House, both built in 1967,  Nosker House built in 1962 and Houck House (below)

built in 1965.  The 1960s weren't known for their grand architectural style, but there are memories in those buildings; a first dorm room, a first love or any number of other firsts.  The university could easily remodel those buildings and even add onto them, if needed to accommodate additional students.  

The Ohio State University will most likely keep certain buildings for 100's of years.  Certain buildings are synonymous with the campus, Ohio Stadium, St. John Arena, the Towers, but other lesser known buildings are getting destroyed  Many buildings on campus have been remodeled and re-purposed, but it appears these eleven buildings didn't fare so well.  It's sad, the Ohio State campus is changing and someone's memories will forever be changed as well.  

The buildings will always be a part of Ohio State's history but when they're gone they will no longer be living history; they will be lost treasures to one day be found in the archives and hopefully written about and remembered fondly

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum

"Me carrying a briefcase is like a hot dog wearing earrings" - Sparky Anderson, manager, Cincinnati Reds, 1970-1978

Back in June, I visited the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum at Great American Ballpark. I didn't know anything about the Public History profession then, but now that I do know a little bit, I'm looking back on the experience differently.

Sparky Anderson was the manager of the Reds during the "Big Red Machine" era in which the team won two World Series championships and his unpretentious attitude as shown in the above quote is reflected in the museum.

On display are some truly amazing artifacts for any baseball or Reds fan, like signed game-used jerseys, the ball representing the final out of the 1919 World Series (the Reds' first world championship) among many others.

What makes this museum different, I think, is the wealth of interactive exhibits. You can try on catcher's equipment, throw pitches (with a display that tells you if it's a ball or strike with a cut out in the wall in which another person can look through an umpire's mask and try his or her hand at calling balls and strikes). Also, there is a display that shows how to grip a baseball to throw different kinds of pitches, see and touch a MLB base, as well as see and touch the materials that make up a baseball for the big leagues. You can even try your hand as a broadcaster and call plays from actual Reds game footage.

Me trying on a catcher's mask

We've talked before about how some people won't visit museums because they think it's not "for them". But, through the use of these interactive exhibits, the Reds HoF & Museum makes the museum accessible and inviting rather than a collection of old stuff you're allowed to see but not touch. Baseball, and sports in general, already serves to bring people together and foster a connection with a particular place. The museum's use of interactive exhibits helps to nurture that connection that many people in Ohio and elsewhere already feel for their Cincinnati Reds without anyone being excluded or feeling that he or she doesn't belong.

Vintage Base Ball, Living History

While checking my email a while ago, I found an interesting article (located here) about an apparently growing trend: base ball clubs are forming nationwide that are dedicated to playing the game 19th-century style. These players are dedicated to recreating the game with historical accuracy, including period uniforms, equipment, rules, terminology, and nicknames. While the teams practice varying degrees of authenticity--one, the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia, requires the purchase of a $300 wool uniform--the article claims that their main purpose is "exercise and camaraderie with a historical twist."

Throughout baseball's history, there have been several editions of the official rules and each league must pick which one to use. The Athletic club is part of the Mid-Atlantic league, which uses the 1864 rules. These include such differences as being allowed to catch a batter out on one bounce (because gloves hadn't been invented and aren't used), not wearing helmets, and pitching underhand.

One reason that this seems to be catching on is in response to recent trends in professional baseball. According to Mid-Atlantic league commissioner Bruce "Early" Leith, "It brings people back to a simpler time, before million-dollar contracts, TVs, cars, steroids and gloves." By rewinding the clock, these vintage leagues are de-professionalizing baseball and attempting to bring back its original intent: casual fun.

I don't know enough about baseball history to say whether their interpretation of the sport's early days are accurate, but it seems to me that this is a great way to bring one piece of history alive. I immediately associated this with Civil War re-enactors in my mind (indeed, one of the Mid-Atlantic teams most dedicated to authenticity were Civil War re-enactors). Whether they are dedicated baseball enthusiasts or hobbyists drawn to the mid-19th century, these players can help us better relate to what we study, and I personally can't wait to see where else this might lead.

DJs and Curators

     In looking for articles for the museums class, I came across an article called “A New Spin: Are DJs, Rappers and Blogger’s ‘Curators’?” This certainly caught my attention.  This is one of the introductory paragraphs. 

“The concert review described how the musician Ludacris featured guest rappers and DJs famous in the ‘80s and ‘90s in his own new recordings and live performances. Praising the inclusion of songs and appearances by other artists in the concert, the reviewer wrote, “A cavalcade of guests emerged to take the stage for a few moments each, a showcase of New York hip-hop history with a devoted fan as curator. It turned the show on its ear.”

      This article is basically questioning the use of the term curator, in this context. What does it mean to be a curator and is it limited to the museum profession or can it be used more widely? The author N. Elizabeth Schlatter, comments that the word ‘curate’ is being used more in the press as a general word for organization. Schlatter says that curating is much more than simply putting objects in order on a shelf.  As we all know curating is much more involved than that. Some say that the new applications of the term can be used in a business sense to connect the corporate and museum worlds more intimately. I wonder if this is a slippery slope that might end in everyone being a ‘curator’ and the actual meaning of the word being lost. So here is the question, do we embrace the new uses of this word in order to be more inclusive with the world around us? Or do we dismiss this new definition that could diminish what we do? The author closes with this, 

“Perhaps the key to the curator’s future is not just to embrace the term’s new applications but also apply others to the profession. Contemporary art curator Gerardo Mosquera said in Words of Wisdom, ‘Even if you can train your eye, you need a de natura aptitude to become that sort of visual DJ that we call Curator.’ So if Ludicris is a curator, perhaps curators should become DJs.”

The Carillon Brewing Company is now open!

Every so often, I like to check up on Carillon Park's webpage and see what's new.  I was pleased to see that the Carillon Brewing Company is now open!  This brewery will eventually include a mid-century wine and cider press, too.  The last time I was at the park, the brewery was in its early stages of development.  In order to better educate myself on what the brewery was all about, I did some research and came across an article in the Dayton Daily News from September, 2012 titled, "What to expect when historic brewery opens at Carillon next year."  This article discusses how the $3 million project will be implemented into Carillon Park.

The article discusses how Carillon Park is the only museum in the nation that produces and sells beer using techniques dating back to the 1850s!  Guest are not only able to sample beer, but also see how it was made in Dayton long ago.  The article gives a quick look at Dayton's brewing history. In 1852,  lager stock yeast was delivered to the Wayne Street Brewery Building and they began creating their fist lager style beer.  This was not the first beer brewed in Dayton, though,as Colonel George Newcom established his brewery next to his tavern in 1810.  The brewery showcasing Dayton's famous beers is not the only way Carillon Park has made a historical connection to beer and wine.  The park has been hosting events like the German Picnic, Fleur et Vin, and Ale Fest for decades.

  The brewery will encompass the atmosphere of the 19th century brewing process.  Brady Kress, Dayton History president and CEO, was interviewed for this article and stated that guests will be able to see, smell, and taste the history of brewing in Dayton. Guests can even help lower the wine press and crank the grain mill for beer if they wish!  I really like how Carillon Park is wanting the public as involved as possible and making this brewery a learning experience.  I would like to see how the park incorporates what happened during the prohibition years in Dayton and what that did to local breweries.  I hope to make it out to Carillon Park soon to see the new brewery and learn more about Dayton's rich brewing history!

Here are some cool pictures I found of the brewery on Carillon Park's and Dayton History's websites:

Public History and Community Outreach

Mike Wallace's Mickey Mouse History has proven to be a rather pointed book so far. He has as many opinions as the Smithsonian has artifacts, but regardless of everything else he has brought up, one point that we agree on is that museums should have some sort of positive impact in their communities. Wallace argues that in urban centers they should perform some sort of community-revitalizing function and he offers a few examples of museums that have just that. One example he provided was the San Diego Historical Society's extra role as a community center in its poor, crime-ridden neighborhood. Wallace isn't alone in this thinking. For those in the Museums class, Ambrose and Paine's Museum Basics also note the power of museums to cause economic and cultural regeneration in their immediate locations.

This, in conjunction with Wallace's discussion on exhibits about poverty and homelessness, got me brainstorming about my own design of socially active museum-community center hybrid. Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank (an organization designed to empower the rural poor by offering micro-loans), said in his 2006 Nobel Prize acceptance speech (available here) that in the future he wanted a world where "the only place you would be able to see poverty is in the poverty museums." However, I think there's plenty of opportunity for museums to help fight poverty by putting it in their museums now. Exhibits exploring the causes, past attempts at helping, and prompting the audience to think of their own solutions could help raise awareness, for example.

I thought of an idea as well for an actual "poverty museum," as Yunus said. I do realize that it is a highly impractical idea and would depend very much on a local focus and collaboration with many social welfare organizations, but here it is:

The museum would have exhibits explaining poverty and homelessness, connecting local trends to national ones where applicable. It would explain how certain areas came to be slums, what has been done to help or harm, etc. The language used would need to be careful to put blame where it's due without alienating any group that could be part of the solution. Oral histories could be gathered from those willing (with possible incentives discussed below) to share how they came to be poor, whether by birth, lay offs, drug abuse, etc. and displayed. The dining area could be themed like a soup kitchen (and double as one on occasion).

Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Perhaps attached to the museum or nearby could be some housing for a renewal program designed to help those stricken with poverty/homelessness get back on their feet and into the job market, similar to the Over-the-Rhine Community Housing in Cincinnati (info. here). The program would be voluntary to join but require certain actions, sessions, evaluations, etc. to be taken to ensure that progress is being made. It would attempt to foster a spirit of community as well. Perhaps often one's oral history could count as a good faith "entry fee" to the program, and perhaps some residents could be trained as temporary museum guides who could offer first-hand accounts and receive some pay while seeking long-term employment. The guide idea could be used even without the community housing.

Again, this is probably incredibly impractical--the legal issues might stop it if the economics were doable. Still, the merger of museum and community outreach is a powerful concept that should not be overlooked.

The Future! 3D digitization at the Smithsonian

I saw a spot about this on the news a couple of weeks ago and was blown away.  As we all know, digitization of museum and archival collections has been an important task in the field of public history in recent years.  Digitization can take many forms: from simply taking a picture of an old newspaper to scanning old photographs to 3D scanning that is now being done by the Smithsonian.  Digitization, in all its forms, allows public historians to preserve their collections in a more modern format and also to share their collections with a broader audience.

The internet, for better or for worse, is so much a part of our life in 2014.  And by utilizing the latest technology historians can reach more people than ever before, and present history to them in a way they might not have thought about.  There are tons of social media campaigns led by institutions like the Smithsonian to get people involved and engaged in history.  From #museumselfie days to #throwbackthursday to even #musueumcats (everyone should check that one out ha!) museums and archives are using social media platforms to connect with people.

The Smithsonian has now taken this whole inter-connectivity pursuit to the next level.  They have been using the latest in scanning technology to scan their collections in 3D!  Here is a little video they posted about the new project:

Amazing.  This will allow you to sit on your couch in your pajamas and look at and manipulate Abe Lincoln's life mask, if you're into that kind of thing.  This will allow schoolchildren, who may not be fortunate enough to take a class trip to D.C., to see items from the world's greatest museum right in their classroom.  This will allows people around the world, who may never get the chance to visit this great nation of ours, to experience the amazing historical artifacts of the land of the brave.  And! The TV spot about this even mentioned that these scanned items can be printed on 3D printers anywhere in the world!! Now how cool is that?  You can print your very own Lincoln life mask in your pajamas!  If you happen to have a spare 3D printer laying around your house, of course.

Technology, although I may hate it sometimes, is really opening up the world, and strides are being made in the field of public history.  Maybe in the future there will be enough money for the National Museum of the United States Air Force to get some sweet 3D scanning equipment!  And maybe in the future kids won't be saying "History? I hate history."  New technology like this will bring amazing archives and museum collections to broader and more diverse audiences than ever before.  Welcome to the future, my friends!

Historic Tour in OTR

                 Last weekend, I took a history tour of Over the Rhine in Cincinnati. Every time I travel to a new city, I take a history tour if one is offered. Tours are one of my favorite ways to learn about the history of a city or neighborhood. I have taken tours in Cincinnati, Charleston, Savannah, Chicago, The French Quarter in New Orleans, The Garden District in New Orleans, and Montgomery Alabama. Although all of the history is very interesting to me, some tours are better than others. My two favorite tours were the French Quarter and Over the Rhine because the tour guides were the most knowledgeable and passionate about history. I could tell that it was more than just a job for them.

                I love the tours because the history guides take groups into historic buildings, which I love. It is more than just looking at historic architecture, though. The guides explain who lived in the houses, what activities went on in the buildings, what cultures populated the neighborhood, how they made their living, how they had fun, how they dealt with tough times through history like wars and prohibition, and how the neighborhood became what it is today.

                Over the Rhine has a very interesting story. OTR was first inhabited by German immigrants in the mid nineteenth century. It was called Over the Rhine because the Miami-Erie canal reminded them of the Rhine in Germany. Some say it was actually a derogatory term used by the English, or the “natives” as they referred to themselves, to refer to the Germans on the other side of the canal. OTR has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. It is filled with so many stories and so much history. It’s too much for one blog, but I will show you all some photos that I took with explanations just to show what the tours include.

 

           Below is a photo of a building that was originally called the People's Theatre. Here, the people of OTR could see various shows, such as boxing matches, Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, and Annie Oakley shows, and Burlesque shows. Now, a pizza place called Venice on Vine is located in this building where the lobby and saloon once were. It is not just any restaurant, though. It operates as an educational program to provide job training for inner city residents. If you are ever in OTR, check out Venice on Vine. Some of the decorative plasterwork has been preserved.

 

          

            The next photos are of what used to be an apartment building in OTR. This was my favorite stop because I thought this old apartment complex gave a good description of how the lower and middle class residents of OTR lived back in the late 1800s and early to mid 1900s. The guide said that the lower class lived in the back part of the complex. The rooms were smaller, they had no balconies, and the views were not like the front apartment views. The photo below shows the back part of the complex.
                                     

                         The photo below shows the front portion of the apartment complex. The residents had a street view, bigger rooms, and balconies. We were standing in a courtyard that looked like it could have been a lovely place to relax on a nice day, but that was not the case back then. The courtyard was were the residents used the privy.

 

 

 

                            Below is a photo of the apartment building that is currently under construction. Like so many historic buildings in OTR, it has been saved and it will be safe for the OTR residents to live in once again.

 

 

                                       

 

                      The reason I love OTR is because it has such an interesting past and everyone there seems so passionate about the history of their community. The tour guide explained that OTR is fixing up housing for the less fortunate so that they may remain in their neighborhood and homes. My tour guide, John, said that a long time OTR resident came to him one day and explained how excited she was, after all the years of it being a very dangerous neighborhood, that it was starting to feel like a nice community again. There is a debate on gentrification of OTR, but that will have to be a discussion for another time.

 

                      Other stops on our tour included an underground crypt beneath a beautiful church, an biergarten where Boss Cox once drank and did business, a tour of the Christian Moerlein Brewery, and it ended at the Christian Moerlein tap room where we had beers and chatted with the tour guide.

 

                     This public history tour was a fun and adventurous way to learn about Cincinnati's past and how it came to be what it is today. I am excited to see so many historic buildings being preserved and I am happy to see such a beautiful neighborhood become a happy community again. I will post a link for the history tours below.

 

 

                                                      www.americanlegacytours.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional vs. Digital Film Preservation

In high school, I worked at a movie theater and my favorite part of my job was threading new reels of film. There was something so nostalgic and "Hollywood-esque" about threading the film myself and working with the projector. I was incredibly frustrated when digital projectors were implemented because all movies were pre programmed to a flash drive. Never did I think the Library of Congress would have issues with the digitization of film as well!  I stumbled across an article in the September 2014 issue of the Washingtonian titled, Unhappy Medium:  The Challenges With Archiving Digital Video.  This article addresses how movies are now "born digital," meaning shot on digital cameras and no longer using Celluloid film.

 I consider myself very tech savvy and like the quality of digital film, but agree with this article when it states that digital film is not an equivalent to traditional film.  Archivists are able to make repairs, copy original film onto safety film stock, and place it in cold storage to keep film lasting centuries.  This system ensures archivists that the film's quality will be as good in a few hundred years as it was when printed.  As digital film grows more popular, traditional reel collection will become harder to come by.  Companies like Kodak, which is one of the Library's top suppliers of film, are going bankrupt.  Thankfully, the article confirms that the company has no intention of getting rid of traditional motion-picture film.  Fujifilm has already ended production of traditional film and the Library has had to count on a German distributor (ORWO) to access classic black-and-white film.

One of the main issues the Library of Congress has noticed is the copyright regulations on film.  To register a copyright, the filmmakers submit work to the Library and is stored for 123 years.  These regulations will need to be rewritten as the Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) that are sent to theaters already have anti-piracy technology encrypted.  This technology prevents anyone who is authorized to show these films from playing beyond the specific times and periods already installed in the DCPs. This limits the control the Library of Congress has over preserving the movie.  Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM) is being offered as an alternative to DCP, but prevents the Library of Congress from adding closed captioning and subtitles to film.  

Archivists at the Library of Congress have been working together to preserve and accommodate digital format.  Meetings of professional organizations are done regularly to discuss the future of film and digital preservation efforts.  Criss Kovac, supervisor of the National Archives' Motion Picture Preservation Lab, states in the article that there needs to be more cooperation, but is hopeful as problems arise archivists will band together.

I know technology is the future, but I truly hope the traditional way movies are filmed can be continued and preserved as long as possible!

Smithsonian adds LGBT history to museum collection

I just read an article on the WTOP's website.  WTOP is a radio station in the Washington DC area.  The article is titled "Smithsonian adds LGBT history to museum collection",  it sounded interesting  so I read it to see what the Smithsonian was adding.  "Hundreds of photographs, papers and historical objects documenting the history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are being added" the article starts out.  Then it goes on to say that items from the popular TV show "Will and Grace" will be included in the items added to the collection.  "Will and Grace" is a fictional show about a gay man, portrayed by a straight man, his best friend Grace and another friend Jack, who is also gay on the show and has come out as a gay man in "real life".  I think it's great that TV shows are able to portray gays and that people accept the show and laugh and enjoy the show, but it's just a show.  Two of the items being donated are a sign from Grace Adler Interior Design and Will Truman's framed college diploma - why? They aren't real people.  Other items being added include passports of the first openly gay U.S. ambassador and his husband as well as sports memorabilia from gay and lesbian athletes.
The show has probably changed some people's views on gays and lesbians, but I don't understand why props from a "gay" show are included in the Smithsonian collection.  I guess it's popular culture, which was one of the points in our readings last week.  Popular culture dictates what is considered history.  The show, although very funny was also very stereotypical.  Jack was flamboyant and a bit aloof which is how many gays are perceived.  If articles from "Will and Grace" will be in the Smithsonian as part of the gay and lesbian collection will there be other actors' items there?  Robert Reed, who played Mike Brady on "The Brady Bunch" was gay, will there be an area of the collection for actors who couldn't be themselves, who couldn't come out because they wouldn't have been accepted by the public although fellow actors knew of their sexuality? 
I guess I was just taken aback that "Will and Grace" appears to be the big news at the gay and lesbian collection when so many others have fought for so many years for gay rights and equality.  "Will and Grace" was ground breaking and did open people eyes, but I hope there is also focus on the hundreds and hundreds of normal people who were and are part of the gay movement.
http://www.wtop.com/41/3684560/Smithsonian-adds-LGBT-history-to-museum-collection

National 9/11 Memorial & Museum

I was going to do a post about some of the assigned reading today, but with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks  being tomorrow, I thought it appropriate to save that for another day.

While it's unlikely that I will be able to visit the museum and memorial any time soon, I have been browsing the web site (link will open in a new window). You may have seen the 9/11 Memorial before, which is made up of the reflecting pools located in the "footprints" of where the Twin Towers once stood with the names of those lost etched into bronze plates and other exhibits, which you can tour here. However, my primary focus will be on the museum, located underground.

First, let me say that, judging from what I've seen on the site, I think the museum is incredibly well designed and comprehensive. It makes extensive use of oral history from people who were both directly and indirectly affected by the events of that terrible day. They include testimony from survivors, first responders, family members and loved ones of those lost and those involved in the recovery efforts. Especially haunting is that of Amy Mundorff, the forensic anthropologist with the massive and grim task of sorting through and identifying the remains of the dead after the attacks. Her oral testimony and that of others is available online here.

Furthermore, there is a strong emphasis on the people who lost their lives in the attacks. As part of the museum, there is a "Memorial Exhibition". The description from the site is best:

The memorial exhibition, In Memoriam, commemorates the lives of those who perished on September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 and provides visitors with the opportunity to learn about the men, women and children who died. Visitors enter the exhibition along a corridor in which portrait photographs of the nearly 3,000 victims form a "Wall of Faces," communicating the scale of human loss.

Nearby, touchscreen tables allow visitors to discover additional information about each person, including photographs, images of objects, and audio remembrances by family, friends, and coworkers. Rotating selections of personal artifacts are also featured. An inner chamber presents profiles of individual victims in a dignified sequence through photographs, biographical information and audio recordings.

© 2004-2011, National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

https://www.911memorial.org/memorial-exhibition-0

There's much more to the site than what I've outlined here. I'm glad that the site for the museum exists and includes so much information and images of the museum since it isn't practical for me visit in person yet. I also encourage you to spend some time on the site. It's a great resource for learning about the significant places, people, and events on that day thirteen years ago. 

Ancient Public History

Ancient Public History

                Public history as a topic or subject is not as new as it may seem. Public history has been around for hundreds and even thousands of years! I discovered this on a trip to Rome, Italy two years ago. I went to Italy to participate in an archaeological dig, but when I was not on the dig site my fellow diggers and I toured in and around Rome. One weekend I went to Ostia Antiqua, an ancient Roman ruin site just outside of Rome. In Ostia I discovered and fell in love with what I now realize as an element of public history, mosaics! 

Mosaics are made up of tesserae cut from marble, tile, stone shells, glass, and/or pottery. The tesserae usually measure around .5 to 1.5 cm and are arranged on a mortar base to form pictures or images. Mosaics are found on the floors, walls, ceilings, and fountains of both private and public buildings. I now realize that by looking at and touching the mosaics at Ostia I was experiencing ancient public history because by using mosaics Romans were teaching audiences and providing them with information about their own history. 

Alexander the Great

                                                                                                                                                           Roman mosaics depicted many images such as Roman activities that included gladiator contests, sports, agriculture, and hunting. Famous people, such as Alexander the Great were also featured in mosaics. Ostia has the earliest example of a human figure depicted in a mosaic dating around 115 C.E. Animals from Greek mythology are very prominent in the mosaics in Ostia showing the deep Greek roots and influences that are embedded in Roman history and society. Mosaics served as public images that taught and reminded Romans of their heritage and where they came from.
Not only did mosaics reach out to audiences thousands of years ago, but they are still around for audiences today to experience a form of public history that started so very long ago. 

 More on Ostia!

Why Are Historical Institutions Always Short on Cash?

There's a common thread that I've noticed throughout my coursework this semester, even at only a few weeks into the program. It's that just about every public history-related institution has a very limited budget.

I started thinking about why that might be the case. I believe that, for better or for worse, that our individual spending and public funding allocations reflect our priorities as a society. If that's true, then history is simply not a priority for most people in the United States. This ties in with Glassberg's idea of American culture as "historicidal", which I agree with, though with some reservation.

Then, I began thinking again. Why are we a historicidal culture? I think two of the biggest reasons are that the United States is still a very young nation, especially compared to many in Europe, whose histories extend much further back even than the first English settlement at Jamestown. There simply isn't very much history to be had. The second is, I think, how history is taught in public schools. It's generally presented as a list of dates, names and events that students are expected to memorize, regurgitate for the tests, and then probably forget about. I wholeheartedly agree with much of what is in the readings and what has been said in class about history education, particularly in that there's a lack of complete narratives to which students can relate.

Human beings connect with narratives and stories. It's been that way since before recorded history. I think that if history is presented in that way, it will be able to engage more people from a much earlier age. The fact of the matter is that when history is presented as a narrative, people engage with it, people flock to such narratives. Movies like Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan and Gettysburg were and are, very popular because they tell stories about history. The historical accuracy of the stories vary, but regardless, they still tell stories about the past and the people who lived in the past.

As aspiring public historians, we need to keep in mind that history is a collection of stories about people and events that came before us.

The Jacob Henry Masion Estate

Over Labor Day weekend I attended a wedding in Joliet, IL at The Jacob Henry Mansion Estate.  The mansion sits almost in the center of downtown Joliet.  Jacob Henry built the mansion in 1873; he was a wealthy railroad magnate.  The mansion took three years to complete and has 16,800 square feet and over 40 rooms.  There are fire places in many of the rooms with ornate black walnut and oak wood carved mantles and built-ins around them. 


The mansion is now used primarily for receptions, lunches, teas, etc.  Two of the second floor bedrooms are set up as dining areas, while two others are set to look as they did when the mansion was built.  The bedrooms are HUGE and each has large windows and doors.  The lower level, where the main reception areas are still look like 4 or 5 separate rooms.  The main living room is a large room with hardwood floors for dancing and entertaining.  What appears to be the original dining room was used for socializing and appetizers.  A room, most likely a study was set up with tables for dining.  There are modern conveniences such as air conditioning, multiple bathrooms and a built in bar area for parties, but the house still looks very much like it did 100 years ago I'm sure.


Attached to the property is an old chapel, no longer used as a place of worship but used only for weddings.  Built onto the chapel is another reception area and a courtyard connects the chapel to the mansion.  Friday before Labor Day there were 3 weddings there before the rehearsal I attended and Saturday there were at least 4 events on the property.


For more information you can visit www.jacobhenrymansion.com.  If you ever get to Joliet, IL I highly suggest visiting the mansion.  The downtown area was similar to Dayton, although larger and a bit more thriving.

Ulysses & Julia Grant: Personal History at Their Historic Home

This past summer, I had the good fortune of traveling to St. Louis, MO on vacation. While there, I managed to visit around a dozen museums and historic sites, each of which I attempted to look at not only as a visitor but also as a professional-in-training. From the Old Courthouse's continuing attempts to recreate the room in which the Dred Scott case began in the 1840's; to the Museum of Westward Expansion's decision to make their building as open non-linear as the subject it teaches; to the Scott Joplin House allowing visitors to play his ragtime hits on an old player piano; the museums of St. Louis try hard and (I think) succeed at helping their patrons feel connected to history. For me, none made that connection stronger than the Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site.

White Haven. It was painted Paris green
in the 1870's, a then-popular color.

The Grant Site is located at the location of the Grant family's home, White Haven, and the surrounding farm. The house itself was bare, a decision the museum made because they did not have enough information about how it may have been furnished. The original chicken house, ice house, and summer kitchen were also on-site, but none of those were all that special in themselves. Where the Grant Historic Site really shines is in the personal stories it tells about Grant, his wife Julia, and their children, in-laws, and slaves. Our guide was an excellent story-teller, and as we walked around the site, he told us of young Ulysses riding through driving rain to propose to Julia before he left to fight in the Mexican-American War; of him arguing with his father-in-law, Frederick Dent, about the ethics of slavery (Grant opposed, Dent owned); and of other pieces of their lives.

Excerpts from Ulysses' and Julia's
journals and letters were available to read.

After the tour, this focus on the personal side was compounded by an exhibit called An Intricate Tapestry: the Lives of Ulysses and Julia Grant, which attempted to explore "the Grants' public and private roles within the context of their time." While there was information on Grant the general and president, the highlight was the family dynamic. Explored through correspondence and other primary sources, the exhibit revealed an an intimate way the inner-workings of one of the presidential families during one of the country's most trying periods.

The Grant Historic Site gave me a good idea of just how personal an exhibit could be and one of many ways to evoke a connection to history. It will be interesting to discover more ways to bring history alive.